Injuries, injuries, injuries… They are a killer for owners in fantasy leagues, especially those fighting for a playoff berth in their league this late in the season. Arian Foster, Ronnie Hillman, Brandon Cooks, and Giovani Bernard are just a few with significant enough injuries that will make this week’s waiver wire picks even more enticing.

Jonas Gray-RB-Patriots- Clearly Gray will be the top add in most leagues this week. By now all owners know all too well what kind of insane week the running back had with his 38 carries, 199 yards and four, count ’em, four touchdowns! Now the only thing left is to pray that your waiver pick is a low one in your league to still have a chance at grabbing him.

Kenny Stills-WR-Saints- Since the aforementioned Brandin Cooks will be out for several weeks, Stills becomes the instant add as he will probably end up being a WR 2 and possible starter for the high octane Saints. Tall, talented, and great hands are some of Cooks’ attributes that make him a solid pickup this week.

Josh McCown-QB-Buccaneers- Coming off a great Week 11 connecting with Mike Evans (for his career best day in the NFL), McCown becomes a nice add for Week 12 given that he will face one of the leagues most defensively challenged teams in the Bears-one that has given up an average of 21.8 points to opposing quarterbacks this season.

The Furance says that little-owned QB Josh McCown makes for a decent pickup as he faces the Bears in Week 12. Photo: Ron Foldy-Getty Images North America

Dan Herron-RB-Colts- For those in deeper leagues and with the ankle injury to RB Ahmad Bradshaw, Herron makes for a decent pickup at running back with only Trent Richardson standing in his way. Herron will now see more snaps with the loss of Bradshaw and the ineffective and inconsistent play of Richardson.

Possible ‘Drop’ candidates:

Martellus Bennett-TE-Bears- Bennett’s value has been taking a hit over the past two months as the ex-Giant has only scored one touchdown since week 3. Cut him lose if you can find a better substitute on the waiver wire.

It could be time to sever your ties with #83 Bears TE Martellus Bennett who hasn’t seen the endzone in two months. Jonathan Daniel/Getty photo

Pierre Garcon-WR-Redskins- Hard to drop someone with a name as ‘sexy’ as Pierre Garcon but at least consider beching the veteran receiver until he convinces you he’s returned to form and has re-established some chemistry with RGIII. With only 21 receiving yards over his last two games he isn’t worth starting.

There are sleepers to consider, rookies to watch, and potential busts, but then there are breakout players who redefine themselves after a poor season or a lost one. The five players below are just a few of those who are ready to go to that ‘next step’ towards making a major impact in the 2013-2014 season.

1. Steven Jackson-RB-Falcons- Here’s a bold prediction right off the bat; we think that Jackson could have his best year in the NFL statistically and surely will meet or exceed his 2009 numbers. Main reason? He won’t be staring at eight in the box in Atlanta, not with their varied offensive threats. Jackson is coming off his eighth consecutive 1,000 yard season but his biggest breakout numbers will come in receptions (Jackson has averaged 45 a year) and in touchdowns where he should reach double-digits as compared to his average of 5 over the past three seasons. There is no reason, besides injury of course, why the 30 year old 6′ 1″ 236 lb tailback shouldn’t see as many red zone opportunities as Michael Turner did last year (51). The fact that Matt Ryan threw 103 passes to his top three backs last season won’t hurt either.

2. David Wilson-RB-Giants– Veteran running back Ahmad Bradshaw left via free-agency telling us that the Giants had no qualms in letting him do so because of their confidence in their 2012 first-round draft pick, David Wilson. They saw an explosive sampling of his abilities during the last four games of the season when Wilson rushed for 247 yards while averaging a whopping 5.7 yards per carry. The risk here, however, is Wilson’s propensity toward fumbling which could see him realize a lesser workload as coach Tom Coughlin has little patience for dropped balls. Wilson is poised to have a breakout year if he can keep the pigskin off the turf.

#22 David Wilson will get his opportunity for a breakout season with Ahmad Bradshaw no longer in the picture. Photo: RON ANTONELLI/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

3. Sam Bradford-QB-Rams– Coming off a rebound season last year, the Rams offense greatly improved through the draft with the acquisitions of two speedsters; Tavon Austin and Stedman Bailey. They will join Chris Givens now entering his second season, Brian Quick and Austin Pettis. No doubt that Bradford will miss reliable Danny Amendola, but with this group, together with big tight end Jared Cook and TE Lance Kendricks, Bradford now has a serviceable arsenal of receivers at his disposal which we feel will garner the former Rookie of the Year 4,000 yards and 25 TD passes this season, a breakout year to be sure!

4. Mohamed Sanu-WR-Bengals– Sanu is a receiver who will more than likely be overlooked in many leagues this season as a broken foot took him out of a wild three-game span last November in which Sanu logged 11 receptions and four touchdowns. The Bengals were hoping that he would be the perfect compliment to A.J. Green when they drafted him in the third round in the 2012 draft and now that he is completely healthy, this adept route runner will be there for the taking in the latter rounds and could prove a tremendous asset in deeper leagues.

#12 Mohamed Sanu could become the compliment to A.J. Green that the Bengals have been looking & waiting for. John Grieshop/Getty Images

5. Randy Bullock-K-Texans- This former fifth round pick spent his rookie year on injured reserve with a torn groin. Prior to being selected in the draft, Bullock won the Lou Groza Award in 2011 as college football’s top kicker. Now that last year’s kicker Shayne Graham is in Cleveland, Bullock should post huge numbers kicking for a powerful Texans offense which helped Graham reach a team record 138 points last season.

With just four more weeks in the regular season, we’ve evened our record to a smooth 40-20 while going 3-2 last week. The two games we lost were by a total of four points; Seahawks vs the Dolphins and the Bucs vs the Falcons. Nail-biters both, we came within a hair of going 5-0 for the second consecutive week. Let’s see if we can run the table this week with these five Best Bets…

*Home team in CAPS

JETS over the Cardinals- Rex Ryan says that his team still has one of the leagues five top defenses. I guess he wasn’t on the sidelines when his Jets were outscored 113-28 by the 49ers (week #4) Dolphins (week #8), & the Patriots (week #12). And their defense has almost been as bad as their offense! So the question remains why are we picking them to win this week? Two words: Ryan Lindley. He will be the Cards’ starting QB this week and has a QB rating of 47.0. Oh, and he has never thrown an NFL touchdown. If the Rams could force him into four interceptions last week then the Jets should do at least the same. Unfortunately, after they mop the floor with Arizona, we’re going to hear the Super Bowl predictions spewing out of Sexy Rexy’s mouth all week…

Jets Coach Rex Ryan needs to cover up his face after reiterating that his club, currently 26th in points allowed, has one of the leagues top five defenses. Photo: nypost.com

Seahawks over the BEARS- We like the visiting ‘dogs this week in what might end up being a 0-0 game when it’s over. Two of the leagues top defenses squaring off should keep the points low in this one. The Bears’ offensive line is a bit banged up from their game vs the Vikings last week. RB Matt Forte, who suffered an ankle injury in that game, is probable but not someone to count on as he’ll play way less than 100%. (Devin Hester is also questionable). The ‘Hawks, if you’ll remember, beat up Da Bears last December 18th AT Soldier Field 38-14 and we like their defense even better this year. They’re our ‘Upset Special’ of the week. *Editor’s note: The last NFL game to end 0-0 was played on November 7th, 1943 and featured the Lions vs the Giants. There were only 9 total first downs in that game!

49ers over the RAMS- This game might be closer than most think given that these two played to a 24 all tie just a few short weeks ago in week #10 at Candlestick Park. Steven Jackson and Danny Amendola both went over the century mark in that contest, 101 rushing and 102 yards receiving respectively. Two things changed significantly since then; the 49ers defense has played like they did last season and, instead of Alex Smith under center, Colin Kaepernick, who has been on fire, will start and give S.F. a better chance of winning.

RAVENS over the Steelers- These are another couple of teams that could play to a 0-0 tie. Historically, these two rivals have always played extremely close games- usually decided by one team lining up for a game-winning field goal. The difference this week will be the absence of Ben Roethlisberger from the starting lineup. In that game, Ray Rice was held to just 40 rushing yards, while Byron Leftwich passed for 199 yards, no touchdowns and one interception. The Ravens pulled out the win by…yep, a field goal- 13-10. Sunday, Charlie Batch will go up against Joe Flacco, a matchup that will make the Ravens come out on top.

#5 Joe Flacco is the main reason why the Ravens will win their second meeting vs the rival Pittsburgh Steelers. Photo: ravens.com

Giants over the REDSKINS- The Giants travel to the nation’s capital for the Monday-Nighter and their second game against the Redskins this season having won the first in week #7 by the score of 27-23. The ‘Skins contained RB Ahmad Bradshaw, holding him to just 43 rushing yards in that one, however WR Victor Cruz had a game high 131 receiving yards and a touchdown while Eli Manning passed for 331 yards on the day. The Giants will need to do a better job at stopping the run if they are to have a legitimate chance at pulling off the victory as RB Alfred Morris and QB RGIII combined for 209 rushing yards in that game. If you believe in deja vous, it was last season (in week #15) that the Redskins stunned the Giants at Met Life Stadium 23-10. It evened their record to 7-7 but the Giants never lost another game in the regular season or in the post season. We’re sure that Big Blue has not forgotten that loss and will use that added incentive to up their record to 8-4.

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